A bill that would allow the Border Patrol to circumvent more than a dozen environmental laws on all federally managed lands within 100 miles of the borders with Mexico and Canada was approved by the United States House Tuesday.
The bill, HR 1505, was part of a larger package of 14 land-use bills approved Tuesday by the House.
Supporters said the measure is needed to give border agents unfettered access to lands now controlled by the U.S. Interior Department and Forest Service. They said laws such as the Wilderness Act and Endangered Species Act often prevent agents from driving vehicles and establishing facilities and surveillance on huge swaths of land, leaving it to illegal immigrants and smugglers who can walk into the U.S. without detection.
Opponents, including the Koochiching County Board, International Falls officials and the National Park Service, have said the bill is a heavy-handed fix that guts important environmental protections. They also question whether the measure is needed along the vast Canadian border, where there is little evidence that illegal immigrants are accessing the U.S. through national parks or wilderness areas.
The Obama administration also opposed the border control bill. The bill in its current form would "thwart successful efforts by agencies to collaborate on border security" and presents "a false choice between natural resources protection and the economy or national security," the White House said in a statement.
Reports say the measure faces dim prospects for approval by the U.S. Senate.
The House bill was approved, 232-188, with 8th District Congressman Chip Cravaack voting in favor.
Michael J. Bars, Cravaack’s communications director in Washington D.C., told The Journal Thursday that Cravaack voted in favor of the larger package of land-use bills.
However, Bars said Cravaack understands that HR 1505 stems from concerns along the southern U.S. border.
“Chip knows (federal land managers) and homeland security have a great relationship on the northern border,” said Bars. “He has spoken to a number of people who have said there is no conflict on the northern border and everyone works well.”
Bars said Cravaack does not believe there were will be implications on the northern border as a result of passage of HR 1505.
“The bill will not compromise an already excellent working relationship on the northern border,” said Bars.
The measure's chief sponsor, Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, has said restrictions on federal lands have turned wilderness areas into highways for criminals.
But, according to news reports, the House bill would sacrifice crucial environmental protections to advance an anti-immigrant and anti-regulatory agenda, said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz.
Citizens of border communities who have been subjected to what he called an ever-increasing federal law enforcement presence "know what it is like to live in a ‘police state’ where undertrained security forces with unfettered authority and a lack of oversight are ever-present," Grijalva said.
